Let's get started.. first off for tonight's review triple header, we start off with Phillips Brewing Company's Hoperation Tripel Cross Belgian IPA. It comes out at 7.3% and it turned out to be a bit different than I expected.

Appearance: The Hoperation pours very un-IPA-like, it looks like a witbier in my opinion, like a Rickards White/macro take on witbier, very orange-pineapple in colour, hazy, lots of sediment floating around, and a minimal off-white head. I expected more of a rich amber, yet still hazy.. but since this is a Belgian-styled IPA, this makes some sense.

Aroma: It has floral yet grassy aroma, smells like spring - an aroma that I can only dream of with winter never going to end it seems. Slightly soapy with a piney hopiness to it, the pine is consistent with most West Coast IPAs out there. Slightly Belgiany with a bit of spice (clove), as well as a nice light citrus fruitiness in addition to all I just said: a noticeable amount of pineapple, but nowhere near the amount of pineapple in 8 Wired's Hop Wired IPA.

Taste: Has a bit of a soapy taste to it, followed by a medium amount of pine bitterness - not too hoppy, yet not lightly flavoured. The bitterness lingers for a while on the palate for the aftertaste. Some lemon citrus notes in there as well, lacks the pineapple I smelled before but hey.. it's still a decent IPA! A smidge of Belgian yeast is hitting the palate here and there, and I really like that as a Belgian snob. Lastly, my burps have a bit of a pineapple citrusness coming from this beer.

Overall Thoughts: I've never had a Belgian-style IPA before so I didn't know what to expect, so for the most part, it was very similar to most BC IPAs I've had in the past, but toned down quite a bit, a Belgian yeastiness, and the appearance of a Belgian witbier or tripel. I love the name, Hoperation Tripel Cross, so that made me want to open this sooner rather than later. 7.3% ABV, I would drink this again! Not too hoppy, and not boring.

Cody Lobreau

Welcome to BeerCrank.ca! I'm a bit obsessed about craft beer, especially Canadian craft beer so I mainly review Canadian beer but I love to try beer from all over the world as well. My goal is to help influence the casual beer drinker to go out and expand their beer palate one way or another. Feel free to send some feedback!
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